Brothers in Arms
by Raine Ito
Summary: A very angsty Turks story, about how Elena, Rude, and Reno pull their lives together after Shinra, only to be drawn into a climactic battle to save the world...again. Please R&R, rated for angst and mildly bad language.
1. New Endings

Reno leaned back in his chair, and put his feet up on the table, blowing out a breath and grinning halfheartedly

Reno leaned back in his chair, and put his feet up on the table, blowing out a breath and grinning halfheartedly. "Morning all," he said, watching a drowsy Elena coming down from her room, and collapsing into a chair across from him. "Unhhh," she muttered, and promptly fell asleep on the table. Reno shook his head. "Shame on you, young lady, you shouldn't have stayed up drinking last night with two rowdy men." Elena raised her head to glare balefully at him. "Hate…you," she muttered, before falling onto the table again. But Reno already had his attention on other things. Namely, the fact that Rude was wearing…an apron.

"Uh, Rude? What-?" Rude turned around. "…Making breakfast," he said, and then lapsed into one of his usual silences. Reno shook his head. "Rude's got aspirations to become a housewife, and Elena has a hangover. What am I going to do with you all?" Elena turned her head to look at him. "You're…in a good mood this morning," she muttered. "Damn straight," agreed Reno amiably, knocking aside a broom resting against the door and opening it to let in the sunlight. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Elena turned towards Rude. "He's preparing us for one of his extremely depressing announcements, now, isn't he? Trying to lighten the mood?" She asked tiredly. Rude looked at the ground. "…Probably." "We," said Reno, "have entirely run out of gil."

There was a long silence, and then Elena sat up, sighing. "I figured it was going to be something like that," she said. "…Gotta move?" Asked Rude. Reno scratched the back of his head, his air of confident playfulness gone. "Yeah…well, we're kind of supposed to be gone already. We don't own the house anymore…and their gonna come to kick us out in about an hour." Rude blinked, and Elena groaned. "Again?" 

She sighed. "Can't believe we've survived this long on our own anyway. After Shinra collapsed, wasn't sure where we'd go. Can't believe it's been three whole years." "…3 and ½," contradicted Rude. Elena waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, 3 ½, whatever." Reno paced back and forth across the room. Then he turned suddenly and looked at Elena. "Can't believe I'm hearing you say that. We're the Turks!" "Ex-Turks," mumbled Elena. Reno ignored her. "We're survivors. We're fighters. We're the elite! We're-!" "…Broke," finished Rude, seating himself next to Elena. 

Reno collapsed into a sitting position by the door, and bit his lip. "Yeah," he said quietly. "We're broke." He stood up again. "And we'd better get out of here before we're both broke, and in trouble with the law. Go pack up." Rude turned, and walked upstairs. Elena lingered by the table a bit longer, staring into the scratched wooden surface, looking thoughtful. Then she followed Rude upstairs.

Reno stood and stared out the doorway. _The mighty Turks, _he thought, _reduced to a trio of shabby_ _downhearted people, being kicked out of their own home for lack of means to pay for it. How Rufus Shinra would laugh if he saw us now. _He shook his head to clear it, and turned to watch Rude and Elena coming down with a small suitcase each. _Pretty lacking in belongings, too, _he thought, and then, _Yes, he would laugh if he saw us now. _And it was a bitter thought, of a past thrown away when put in the hands of the wrong man.

Elena put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," she said, "Let's go." He nodded, and followed them out of the tiny two-floored house, in which they'd lived for about a year. It was the second time they'd been kicked out of their house, but the first time it had been for monetary reasons. That time, they'd still been fighting for a living.

They sat on the lawn outside their modest home and ate the eggs that apron-clad Rude had cooked for them. They weren't good, but they weren't bad either, and they'd all gotten used to Rude's home cooking. They'd sampled Elena's once, but didn't care to try it again, and Reno didn't volunteer his own. No one asked. This was the best they were going to get.

They'd all gotten used to settling for worse. _Lord, Reno thought, __it's been so long. Elena broke into his thoughts with the question they'd all been avoiding. "So," she said, staring at the ground, "Where now?" No one spoke, and Rude eventually remarked, "…Nowhere else to go." Reno shook his head, hearing the finality in Rude's few words. "No…there's that chocobo ranch near Kalm…we could try to get employment there, fighting off monsters or something…" He trailed off, and shook his head. _

"We…could do that," Elena said, not wanting to admit that that was their only option. Rude nodded. "…Yeah." "Alright then," Reno said, expelling a breath. "When we finish breakfast, we'll catch a helitaxi, and-." "…No gil," Rude reminded him. Reno sighed. "Aight, then we'll walk out." Elena nodded slowly, then suddenly threw down her eggs into the grass, surged up. "Damn, she exclaimed, and wandered off into the woods nearby. Rude rose to follow, but Reno pulled him back. "Let her go. She needs some time alone. She'll come back in a minute."

He was right. Elena returned, slouching down on the grass again. "Sorry," she muttered. Reno waved the apology away, and didn't say anything. Neither did Rude. In fact, no one said anything for a long time, they just sat on their property, which wasn't theirs, and thought their own private, and entirely dismal, thoughts. Then Reno stood up, and jerked his head at the others. "Let's go," He said.


	2. Strange Occurrences

About four hours later, they were walking through a forest, near where they knew the chocobo ranch must be

About four hours later, they were walking through a forest, near where they knew the chocobo ranch must be. Reno collapsed to sit on a rock, and waved the others to stop. "Gimme a rest," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "We've been walking for hours." Elena and Rude gratefully seated themselves beside him, and Rude commented "…Not far now." "Mmmm," agreed Elena. But Reeve wasn't listening. "Hey, shut up a minute," he murmured. Instant silence. Elena and Rude turned in the direction he was looking.

Then they heard it too. A sort of shuffling sound, coming from nearby, accompanied by snorting and all kinds of other strange noises. Silently, Reno pulled aside a large leave, and looked into the direction of the sound. Elena opened her mouth to say something, but Rude covered it with his hand, and she subsided irritably. Reno stood perfectly still and stared at the thing that was making the noises.

It was hideous. Hideous like nothing he had seen before. It was a deep shade of sickly green, with huge red eyes that seemed to bulge from it's head. Slowly, it turned those red eyes on him, and stared for a long moment. Then it fired.

A blast of some kind of powerful energy came sailing at Reno, who ducked, barely missing the blast, and darted behind a rock. "C'mon," yelled Elena, grabbing Reno and Rude and pulling them off, away from the thing. The thing followed them, gaining speed until Elena knew they couldn't outrun it. "Damn," she muttered, fumbling in her belt for her gun. She fired 3 shots, not bothering to look behind her to see if it was dead before running in the other direction.

Only after they were sure that they were far enough away did the three ex-Turks stop and turn around. "What…was that thing?" Panted Elena. Reno shook his head. "Dunno…never seen anything like that before, and in all truth, hope I never see one again." "Amen," said Elena, stretching out on the grass. "Where are we?" _Can't believe we just ran from that, she thought. __The day the Turks run from something instead of fighting…_

Rude looked around. "…" He commented. "Yeah, that's basically what I thought," agreed Elena. She sighed. "We went the wrong way. We're lost." Reno cocked his head at her. "Yeah, well, anyone want to go back the way we came?" Silence. "'S what I thought." He looked around. "Hey…you know what's around here?" He stepped a ways forward and frowned. Rude nodded. "…That observatory." Elena nodded slowly. "Yeah…that one we helped build a year or so back?" She shook her head. "Crazy old lunatics with their heads in the stars. Reminds me of Hojo." No one said anything to that. 

"Well," Reno said slowly. "Guess we should go there or something…get directions to the ranch…or…" He trailed off, shook his head. "Let's just go there for the night. Maybe we can get some work repairing stuff or something." Elena nodded, and Rude said nothing. Reno stood for a moment, then headed off in the direction he knew the observatory to be.

_Was about a year ago, wasn't it? He thought to himself as they trudged on. __Needed somewhere to stay, somewhere to earn some solid gil…helped build the accursed thing. He shook his head. __Don't need any more people wasting their time staring into the sky, got enough of that already. Ah well. It's a job. Rude put a hand on his shoulder. "…You ok?" Reno nodded. "Yeah, 'm alright. As alright as anyone can be on this god damned planet." He spoke bitterly, spitting out the words as he looked around at what he and his comrades in arms had been reduced to. Shaking his head, he shut up, and trudged onward. __Maybe if I'm lucky, he thought angrily, __someone will shoot me before I get there._

************

But Reno was still perfectly intact when they reached the intimidatingly large iron observatory; with it's tightly locked doors and guards. _Guards? Thought Elena. __There weren't any guards there before…were there? She frowned, and voiced this thought to Reno. He shrugged. "Everyone's big on lots of security these days. Dunno why, world isn't any scarier than it used to be. Maybe we can get employment as guards, be optimistic." _

They walked up to the guards, and Reno suddenly stepped back, startled. He knew one of the faces well enough. It was Reeve, another ex-Shinra, but who had never really gotten along with the Turks, for the simple and rather easily explainable reason that he had betrayed them all. Reno jerked his head at the others, who all got battle ready, drawing their weapons. Reeve shook his head.

"This isn't the time for fighting, you guys." He smiled sadly. "C'mon in. We'll save our quarrel for later." He opened the door, and a scene was exposed to them, a scene of many people with scared expressions on their faces crammed into the observatory, holding each other and continually gazing up at the ceiling. Elena dropped her gun in confusion. "Wha-what? What's going on here?" Reeve shook his head. "C'mon. I'll show you."

He gestured for another inside to take his place, and she nodded, stepping into his vacated spot. "Why all the security?" Reno asked warily, still not really trusting this person. "We're gonna need it when they get here," said Reeve cryptically. "Huh? When who get here?" Elena asked. Reeve just shook his head, and led them forward. Elena grumbled, and Reno put a hand on hers to silence her.

They finished climbing the stairs to the top of the observatory, coming through a door into a large room with a huge telescope in the center. Reno stopped dead, staring at the people gathered around him in the room. "Well whaddaya know," he muttered. "A room full of old friends." He put a hand on his electro-mag rod, ready to use it if necessary. 

Standing by the telescope was Cloud Strife, flanked by Tifa Lockheart and Barret Wallace. Yuffie Kisaragi sat on a bench and tossed a materia up and down in her hands. Even she looked worried. There was an air of tension all around them, and Reno felt Elena and Rude relax and leave their weapons alone. No one was going to fight them here. Everyone was preoccupied…_with what?_

_ _

Cloud turned around and looked at him, nodding slowly. "Wondered how long it was going to be before you three showed up. Are you here to enlist?" Barret spat, and turned away. Cloud ignored him. Reno stared. "Enlist in what?" Reeve spoke up. "They don't even know." Cloud raised his eyebrows. "Where have you been?" He shook his head, and sat down in a chair, and spun it around to face them. "Where do I begin?"


	3. Reflections of a Dead Person

Cid Highwind, who'd been standing in the doorway, spoke then

Cid Highwind, who'd been standing in the doorway, spoke then. "Lemme do it." He looked at them. "We're bein' attacked. Some damned colony of space monsters is mad as hell at us, and is comin' down to try and wipe us out." Reno's mind did something it had never done before. It entirely blanked out. "Eh??" Cloud took over. "Yes, we're being attacked. We don't know why, or by who, but we do know that the things are coming from space…and they're estimated to arrive...in three days."

Reno saw Elena lurch backward behind him, saw Rude catch her and right her again. "W-w-what??" She spluttered. "Maybe we'd better elaborate," Cloud said. "…" Agreed Rude. Reno just nodded. Cloud sighed. "About a month ago, the scientists at this observatory spotted some steadily moving specks in the distance. He didn't think much of it at the time, assuming it was simply some space debris. Last week, the things became more visible. They are quite living, traveling in cubical objects, and are ugly as hell, too. With our new technology, we were able to view the large guns and weaponry carried within their transports." He dropped his eyes, and Cid muttered, "This ain't gonna be pretty."

Reno continued to stare at his former enemies for a long time before speaking. "And…you say…3 days?" Barret turned then, and grunted in acknowledgment, and Cloud spoke again. "All the people here have come to seek a place where they'll be safe if these…creatures attack. But I'm not even sure this place is safe. Our only hope is to blast them before they blast us." Elena looked incredulous. "S-space creatures arriving in th-th-three days…and we're gonna…fight them?" "Crazy as it may seem, yes." There was a long silence.

"…We're fighting," commented Rude suddenly. Reno stared at him, and then nodded slowly. "Yeah…we are." Even Elena was nodding now. "Let's kick some spacey ass," she said, but there wasn't any energy in the comment, and though everyone tried to laugh, it was a hollow sound, like the earlier sudden emptiness in Reno's mind. "Flaming shit," he muttered. "I'm not going down without a fight."

************

The next day passed at a snail's pace. Elena found herself spending most of the day walking up and down the beach, watching the waves crash against the shore, and listening to the sounds inside seashells. A dolphin reared up in the waves, splashing water all around it. Oddly enough, Elena thought it was the most beautiful beach she'd ever been on. 

She knew what that thought was clearly enough. She knew she was thinking how she might never see a beach again, or a forest, or even a sunrise. _I've only thought this way once before, she realized. __When Meteor was still a threat. It was chaos then. Everyone knew…that they were going to die. She slumped backwards in the sand and closed her eyes. __We defeated it then…can't we defeat it now? Maybe it's not a big solitary rock. Maybe it's harder this time. But…we have to try._

_ _

_She rose then, and walked into the surf, letting the tiny foamy waves wash over her bare feet. She remembered when she was a little girl, and her father had taken her to a beach by their home. She'd been scared of the waves then, and the hot sand. She remembered her father laughing at her fear, and picking her up to give her a pretty pink shell he'd found. She'd been laughing then, in her father's arms…_

Like she'd been laughing when she was on a different beach, only last year, with Reno and Rude. She was so much older of course…daddy had passed away peacefully a few years before. They were celebrating her birthday…and Reno had knocked her into the water and splashed at her, and they had all gotten wet and sandy and exhausted…and happy, that day. _Was it really only last year?_

_ _

_Looking up into the sun, Elena put her hands in her pockets and smiled sadly. "Hi dad," she said, cocking her head to one side and squinting. He'd always told her to be courageous. "Never be afraid of anything, Elena," he'd told her once. "You never need to fear anything. You can take on the world, if you want to, my dear. You can do anything." She felt a tear drop onto her cheek, watched it as it fell and melded with the salty waves. "I'm not afraid, daddy. I'm not afraid."_

Sinking to her knees in the water, she whispered, "But really, daddy, isn't it all right to be afraid…sometimes?"

************

When she joined Rude and Reno again later that day, they didn't ask where she'd been. Reno knew they were all having trouble coping. He almost wished he'd never known about the threat from space, so that he and his friends could have had their last 3 days in peace and maybe a bit of happiness. _Not like we didn't need some purpose in our lives, he thought. __Not that we really were what most people would call happy. _

_ _

_But looking back on it, Reno realized that they had been happy. They'd had very little money, very little substance to their lives…but they'd never been happier. It took a sudden realization of mortality to see it, he thought bitterly. __For the last three years, he thought, __we've had enough to eat…well, almost always. We've had each other's company, and we've had the good times that it's all brought us. Sure, we've had the bad times too, but so does everyone. Are we really gonna lose it all now? Just as we realize what we've got?_

_ _

_Shaking his head fiercely, he stood up abruptly from where he was sitting outside the observatory, startling Rude and Elena out of their own chairs. "Rude, Elena, put something decent on. We're going out to dinner tonight."_


	4. The Last Worthless Evening

(Yes, for this one I borrowed "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straights

(Yes, for this one I borrowed "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straights. It's their song, they wrote it, yadayadayada, and all that copyright stuff. On to the story!)

Reno stepped out of the car, waving a thanks to Reeve before turning and surveying his party for the first time. His eyes widened at Elena's dress, a long velvety black thing with sparkling bits scattered throughout. "Hey…where'd you get that?" "Oh, I had it in safe keeping." Reno whistled. "Nice. Hey, we could've sold that! Why didn't you show us?" She shrugged. "I didn't want you to sell it." Reno chuckled. "Fair enough."

Rude had pulled together a suit, and Reno had borrowed one from another of the 'army' members, since he'd already decided that they were going somewhere fancy tonight. It had been hard to find a place where they could eat for free, but even the high-class restaurants gave in when he said that they were part of the group fighting to save the world. No one really cared. It was one free meal, and they were all going to die anyway. Elena had suggested a place that looked nice, and they'd hitched a ride in Reeve's car to get here. Reno had to admit that everything was easier now that the world was going to end-for a second time.

As they walked in to 'The Dark Flower' restaurant, they could hear music playing from somewhere nearby. They stopped to listen in the doorway, and Elena lowered her head as she made out the words of the song.

_These mist colored mountains,_

_Are home now for me_

_But the lowlands_

_Home always will be_

_Someday you'll return to_

_Your valleys and your farms_

_And you'll no longer burn to be brothers in arms_

_ _

_Through these fields of destruction,_

_Baptisms of fire,_

_I've witnessed your suffering,_

_As the battle raged higher_

_And though it all hurt me so bad._

_In the fear and alarm,_

_You did not desert me, my brothers in arms._

_ _

_There's so many different worlds._

_So many different suns,_

_And we have just one world,_

_But we live in different ones,_

_ _

_Now the sun's gone to hell,_

_And the moons riding high,_

_Let me bid you farewell,_

_Every man has to die,_

_But it's written in the starlight,_

_In every line in your palm,_

_We are fools to make war on our brothers in arms…_

_ _

They all stood there for a moment, looking around for the singer, and not seeing him. Sighing, Elena led the way into the restaurant, while the others maintained a thoughtful silence. Reno cursed under his breath. "We're here to have fun, you guys," he said suddenly. "Not contemplate the future. Now, where's the waitress?"

She did arrive, and they all ordered. Conversations ensued, about the weather, and the past, and what they'd do the next day. Elena cracked some jokes about them being able to con people into giving them everything they wanted for free, and Rude commented that he still intended to try and make waffles the next morning. But the talk had a forced cheerfulness about it that all of them recognized…and were unable to end.

They stayed for a long time, watching the sun go down outside and the stars come out. A candle was lit at their table, and even Reno had to admit that it was a beautiful night. He watched the candle flicker in front of him, finding himself fascinated by the layers of heated color within the flames. Rude was munching on his pie, and Elena was humming quietly to her herself, looking thoughtfully out the window. When the waitress came to take their empty plates, she turned around again.

"You know," she commented, smiling slightly, "The next time we do this, it won't be free." _The next time? Wondered Reno. Rude looked up. "…Who'll pay?" Reno had to laugh slightly, realizing that they were already getting into the usual banter about who should pay the bill, even if it was about the next time they ate. __The next time, he thought to himself. __There probably won't be a next time. They know that…_

"Well," he said. "I think Elena should be punished for keeping that dress from us." Elena looked startled, then smiled. "Oh no, my dear Reno, I think it should be you who are punished for suggesting that a 'dainty young woman' like myself should give up her mother's possession." _Her mother's, thought Reno. "Oh, well excuse me," he replied, "But survival comes before vanity in my opinion."_

They went on like this for some while, as they left the restaurant, stopping to look up at the sky as they walked out. Elena bit her lip, and turned to the others. "I guess we'll have to all pitch in…next time. When it's all over." "When it's all over," echoed Reno, nodding and doing a pathetic impression of his old cocky smile. "…next time," allowed Rude. "When we're all back here again," agreed Elena.

No one said anything after that, they just walked to the curb as Reeve's car pulled up, right on time, to take them back the observatory. As they rode back in the car, Rude looked out the window, and thought to himself, _when we come back…_


	5. Last Man Standing

In the early morning, two days later, Rude, Reno, and Elena got out of bed, loaded their weapons, and left the crowded observa

(The conclusion…*sob*)

In the early morning, two days later, Rude, Reno, and Elena got out of bed, loaded their weapons, and left the crowded observatory with a large and motley group of others, heading for the plains nearby. Not one of them said anything, and it was a long solemn walk before they got there. So many thoughts were passing through each of their heads, that their respective silences went unnoticed by each other, lost in the equally quiet throng.

After the long and grueling walk, they all stood on the Great Plains where the creatures where said to be touching down. Reno, Rude, and Elena cast glances at the sky, partly calculating where they should be, and partly scared out of their minds. Reno shouldered his electro-mag rod, and cast his eyes downward at the ground for a moment. He felt Elena reach for his hand, and then saw her reach for Rude's. Biting her lip, she clutched at the small support that would give her, and then let go and drew her gun, seeing Rude draw his own.

When the first person made the warning shout, everyone's eyes shot up towards the sky. At first, no one saw anything, and then it was chaos. Huge crystalline cubes were crashing down onto the ground, seemingly breaking open and tossing forward ugly greenish monsters, so familiar to Elena and Reno and Rude, as the monster that had attacked them in the forest. They had no time to think about this before the battle was raging all around them, and the first squadron attacked them.

Slashing right and left, Reno made sure to keep an eye on how his friends were doing. Rude and Elena were having more of a difficult time than he was, the things needed several shots to kill. Their skins were as tough as anything Reno had ever seen. One crept up behind him and he snapped his rod backward, hearing simultaneous shots from Rude and Elena's guns, until the thing fell dead. Breathing hard, He whirled to run backwards from the raging hords that were now descending from the sky.

The battle raged on and on, and though many were being killed on both sides, the monster horde seemed never to end. Elena didn't feel the air grow colder as she fought, barely noticed as it started to rain. But the downpour did slightly cloud the vision of the horrible creatures, and gave the humans back the advantage they so desperately needed. "Thanks, dad," whispered Elena, as she shot one off Tifa's back. Tifa gave her a grateful signal, and moved off to another monster. Elena shook the water out of her eyes, and tackled the next. 

Rude found himself on top of a rock, surrounded by creatures. Shooting all around him, he realized he wasn't going to make it. Just as he was giving up, Cid jumped up behind him and finished off some that he had already weakened, giving him an opportunity to get his back against the wall. "…Thanks," Rude muttered. Cid nodded, and kept fighting. "You fight pretty damn good," he commented to Rude, before rushing off. "…" Rude replied.

After a long while in the rain, Elena finished off a large group, and turned to check on Rude and Reno. As she turned, she noticed Lena Ikoshii, another fighter and a friend of Reeve's, trapped by two monsters, without weapon. Breathing hard, Elena rushed towards her, unaware of the many monsters who were closing in behind her. By the time she got there, it was too late. They were surrounded, and as fast as Elena shot, the monsters approached faster. Elena watched in helplessness as Lena went down, and was carried off by a monster. Then the others turned on her. 

Reno heard her cries of rage and fear, and turned, grabbing Rude and running forward as fast as they could. "Elena!" Reno was screaming, and he was running, running as fast as he could, tripping and righting himself, running again, slashing right and left as he went. Rude was right on his heels, as they both watched Elena get slashed to the ground by a large monster. "ELENA! ELENA!" They tore forward, killing the monsters around her with the strength of desperation. They were just in time to see Elena lying on the ground, a huge bloody wound on her stomach. As they reached her, she smiled weakly up at them, and then closed her eyes…and lay still.

Rude threw himself beside her, lifting her head gently. "…Elena," he whispered, and looked away. Reno stared in shock and disbelief. "No…no…NO, ELENA!" He could feel the hot liquid in his eyes, as he stared what had been his friend, lying at his feet. "Dammit…" He knelt by her side, and closed his eyes, holding her hand as Rude cradled her head. 

Suddenly, a monster leapt at them, and Rude shot it down. Reno looked up through his tears to see more monsters coming at them. They were converging around him, and he saw one go to take Elena's body. "NO!" He began slashing around him in a blind rage, while Rude's shots fired around him in the fray, knocking out monsters left and right, until they were all dead.

Reno turned, to see Rude hunched over Elena's body, ready to lift her and carry her out, away from the monsters. As he did so, a monster attacked him from behind, and Reno ran forward to kill it. When he turned around, Rude was slumped on top of Elena, unmoving. "RUDE! NO, NO…no…" He was sobbing now, running, unsure of where he was running, except that he needed to kill the monsters that had destroyed his friends, slashing, hitting, picking up weapons of dead friends and using them blindly against the foes all around him. The whole time he kept screaming, until he realized that he wasn't being attacked any more.

Looking around through the still heavily falling rain, he saw no one moving on the plains. No monsters. No people. No one. "They're all…dead…" he whispered, shaking his head as the tears melded with the rain falling steadily down his face. "Dead…"

After a few moments, Reno walked back the spot where Elena and Rude had been. He'd somehow managed to protect their bodies from the onslaught, and they lay there now. Slowly, Reno lifted Rude off of Elena, and laid him beside her, the tears still coursing down his cheeks. Staring at them for a long moment, he bent, and lifted Elena's gun. Bringing it to his head, he looked one last time at the bloody battlefield before him. Then he turned, and smiled at Rude and Elena. "Hey guys…we've won." Then he pulled the trigger.

And smiled as the gun clattered the ground. The tears stopped, and he fell, embracing his brothers in arms for the last time.


End file.
